Satsivi is a traditional Georgian way of preparing poultry that results in a mouthwatering, tender, and flavorful crowd-pleaser.

Satsivi: Georgian Poultry in Nut Sauce

Published: June 22, 2018

Dr. Michael Denner: For a lot of Georgians, satsivi is… the essence of Georgian home cooking. It is intensely nostalgic, served as the main dish for celebrating the new year, at home, with friends and family gathered around the banquet table, the supra.

SRAS: Dr. Michael Denner is a professor at Stetson’s Program in Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies (REEES). A food enthusiast, he is currently translating and adapting a cookbook called Лобио, сациви, хачапури, или Грузия со вкусом (Lobio, Satsivi, Khatchapuri, or Georgia with Taste), by Georgian author Tinatin Mzhavanadze for English-speaking audiences.

As part of this project, Dr. Denner is leading a Georgian Cooking Club at Stetson to test the recipes with Stetson’s diverse student group. He will also be sharing some of the recipes on our site in advance of publishing the book. Most pictures here are from the cooking club’s experience.

Dr. Denner will also be leading Georgian Foodways for SRAS a new, two-week study abroad course that will address topics such as climate change and state agricultural policies within the context of broader issues of food security, the place of food in social justice and ethnic identity, and the role of Georgian foodways in the current global tourism economy.

Tinatin Mzhavanadze (as translated and adapted from the Russian by Dr. Michael Denner):

Tinatin Mzhavanadze (original text):

If someone were to tell me that my mom’s way of making satsivi in any way departed from the sacred truth, well, I’d immediately dive behind the barricades and open fire to my last bullet… First off, my mother was a biologist, and I bring this up because she always approached everything, particularly cooking, with a scientific bent, admitting no deviation from dogma and canon. Secondly, satsivi is a Megrelian dish, and my mother lived for several years in Zugdidi. [Megrelia is a western, coastal region of Georgia with Zugdidi as its largest city and capital. Beginning in the 13th century BC, it was a Greek outpost called Colchis. The region is generally considered the culinary center of Georgia, and is well known for its spicy, distinctive dishes.] If that doesn’t mean something to you, then I’ll tell you that having lived in Zugdidi is a guarantee of authenticity when it comes to satsivi. Thirdly, well, it’s common knowledge my mom’s satsivi is the best ever.

Dr. Michael Denner: OK. In writing about satsivi, I’m apparently wandering into a combat zone. I’ll proceed with all due caution… What I am about to say about the dish might not please everyone. Maybe I should put on a bullet-proof vest…

First off, what is it? Satsivi is, simply, boiled fowl served in a walnut sauce. Most often now the bird is a chicken, though traditionally it’s a turkey, especially if it’s served on New Year’s Eve. (Georgians celebrate New Year’s Eve as a major holiday, a legacy of its history in the U.S.S.R.)

Satsivi is a buffet dish, something you make to serve a crowd. It’s normally served room temperature, like almost everything on the supra table. If however it’s cooked in a k’etsi, in a traditional Georgian micaceous-clay earthenware dish, then it will remain warm (around 125*) on the buffet table for hours. Many cooks now serve it cold. I like it best at room temperature.

Satsivi is delicious, I think, served on a bed of gh’omi (Georgian corn porridge): A gritty white mound of steaming gh’omi, a few pieces of chicken or turkey pushed to the side of the plate, a creamy pool of walnut sauce fills the plate to its rim. With some crunchy Georgian fermented red cabbage on the side.

Preparing the stock – make sure the poultry is covered with water

Here’s Tinatin’s recipe, adapted for the American kitchen by me. Tina starts with a whole chicken or turkey, but I prefer chicken thighs, which are cheap and nearly impossible to overcook.

The proportions are important: Equal parts meat and onion, and half the weight of walnuts. So, if you start with a ten pound turkey, use roughly ten pounds of onion (a lot, I know!) and five pounds of walnuts.

Please send all criticism to my publisher.

Satsivi

Tinatin Mzhavanadze (as translated and adapted from the Russian by Dr. Michael Denner):

The finished product. The sauce can be coarser and less (as in the picture at top) or thinner and more (as in this picture).

Ingredients:

For 10 servings

2 pounds skinless chicken thighs

4 cups chicken stock

1 large bunch of fresh cilantro (around 3 ounces), the stems separated from the leaves

1-2 bay leaves

1 pound walnuts (halves and pieces, it doesn’t matter)

1 tablespoon ground marigold (or substitute 1 teaspoon turmeric)

1 tablespoon mild, dry, ground red pepper (like ancho or Aleppo)

1 tablespoon of finely-ground fresh black pepper

1 heaping teaspoon of ground coriander seeds

Ground cinnamon, cloves (a few pinches of each)

1 clove of garlic, finely minced or pounded in a mortar and pestle

2 pounds onions, finely chopped

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

Preparation:

Place the chicken thighs in a large stock pot and add the stock. If the stock doesn’t cover the chicken, add some water to cover. Add some salt and a bay leaf, and the stems of the cilantro. Over high heat, bring the pot to a boil. Simmer over low heat for ten minutes, then remove the pot from the heat. Set it aside to cool.

Chop the cilantro leaves coarsely and place them in the middle of a 5-inch square piece of cheesecloth. Twist the cheesecloth closed over the cilantro, like a beggar’s pouch, and squeeze the package over a small glass bowl. You’ll be surprised by the amount cilantro juice you produce! Set it aside.

Make the walnut sauce. In a food processor, reduce the walnuts to a fine powder. Add the marigold or turmeric, the black pepper, a substantial pinch of ground coriander seeds, a little ground cloves, and a little cinnamon. And finally, add the cilantro juice and garlic. Process the mixture with two or three pulses of the processor. (This new-school version with the food processor is simple and really easy, though traditional Georgian cooks would scoff and only use a hand-turned meat grinder, or, the ne plus ultra of the Georgian kitchen, an old mortar and pestle.)

Walnut powder with herbs, spices, and cilantro juice. The first step in making the delicious sauce.

When the stock is cool, skim off as much of the fat that has risen to the top as possible, and set it aside. With tongs, remove the chicken thighs and put them in a large bowl, with some of the stock to keep them moist. Cover and refrigerate the chicken. Strain the stock through a fine-mesh strainer or cheesecloth, and set it aside.

In a large skillet, mix the reserved chicken fat (from the stock), the onions, and the brown sugar. If you collected less than two tablespoons of chicken fat from the stock, add a tablespoon or two of butter. Slowly saute the onions over medium-low heat until they are caramelized, deep gold and just turning brown. It’s okay if some of the onions are more done than others, so long as all the onions are cooked until soft and coloring and none of them are burned. The slower you cook the onions, the easier it will be, and the better the results. (This is generally true in life.)

Bring six cups of the reserved stock to a boil over medium-high heat in the large stock pot. (You may have stock left over.) After the stock has reached a boil, turn the burner down as low as possible, wait until the stock is simmering, and add the walnut mix by the cupful to the stock, stirring thoroughly between each addition. Take your time here: Don’t allow the stock to return to a boil, and mix very thoroughly. The sauce should have the consistency of buttermilk or thick cream–in other words, not very thick. Thin the sauce, if needed, with the leftover stock.

Again working in batches, add the caramelized onions, stirring thoroughly between additions. In restaurants, the satsivi sauce is very fine and smooth; I prefer a little texture to the sauce. If you wish, though, you can use an immersion blender to make a veloute-consistency sauce.

Leaving the sauce to simmer over very low heat, tear or cut the chicken pieces into bite-sized morsels. Add the chicken pieces to the simmering sauce and allow the flavors to blend for five minutes.

Add the vinegar and stir thoroughly. Georgian cuisine is characterised by a slight tartness: The vinegar should be present, but not overwhelming. Add a little more vinegar, if you need to. Correct the salt and pepper, remembering that this dish will be served at room temperature or cold, and that cold dishes need a little more salt than those served warm.

If you plan to serve the dish in the next hour or two, just turn off the heat and serve the satsivi, warm. If you’re serving it many hours later, transfer it to a serving dish and refrigerate. You can serve it directly from the refrigerator, or (better) let it warm up on the table for an hour or two before serving.

About the author

Dr. Michael Denner is a professor at Stetson’s Program in Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies (REEES). A food enthusiast, he is currently translating and adapting a cookbook called Лобио, сациви, хачапури, или Грузия со вкусом (Lobio, Satsivi, Khachapuri, or Georgia with Taste) for English-speaking audiences. As part of this project, Dr. Denner is leading a Georgian Cooking Club at Stetson to test the recipies with Stetson’s diverse student group. Dr. Denner will also be leading Georgian Foodways for SRAS a new, two-week study abroad course that will address topics such as climate change and state agricultural policies within the context of broader issues of food security, the place of food in social justice and ethnic identity, and the role of Georgian foodways in the current global tourism economy.